Safety package for electrical line-cord accessory and method of installing accessory

ABSTRACT

A method of installing an electrical line-cord accessory and a safety package adapted to contain said accessory for display and sales purposes. The electrical accessory is of the type intended to be inserted in a lamp cord, clock cord, radio cord or the like, and is so arranged that it requires snipping through of the cord by a scissors or knife, prior to the installation. This act, which is required on the part of the consumer, has a dangerous aspect if the cord is cut through without first pulling out the plug from the wall socket or receptacle. By packaging the accessory in a special safety package, this danger and likelihood of injury is eliminated, for the reason that the opening of the package requires the user to utilize, as an opening tool, the two-prong plug of the lamp, clock or radio. Thus, prior to opening the package the user or consumer reads the opening directions, instructing him or her to first pull out the plug from the wall receptacle, and then cut through the electric cord, thereafter utilizing the plug as a wrench or opening tool to remove the accessory from the package. After the package has been opened in this manner the consumer then finds further instructions enclosed therein, telling him or her that now the cord possibly must be cut through again, this time at the exact location near the lamp base. Since the cord has already been disconnected for the purpose of opening the package, the danger of electrical short circuit or shock is now eliminated. Prior to the opening of the package, the consumer is not aware that for the installation of the accessory the electrical cord must be cut completely through.

United States Patent Lehmann Dec. '26, 1972 [54] SAFETY PACKAGE FOR ELECTRICAL cessory is of the type intended to be inserted in a lamp LINE-CORD ACCESSORY AND cord, clock cord, radio cord or the like, and is so ar- METHOD OF INSTALLING ranged that itrequires snipping through of the cord by ACCESSORY a scissors or knife, prior to the installation. This act, which is required onthe art of the consumer, has a Invent: Herbert Lehmann 5 Kent Road dangerous aspect if the card is cut through without Easton Conn 06.612 first pulling out the plug from the wall socket or [22] Filed: Nov. 16,1970 receptacle]; By packaging thedafceslskory in a special safet ac a e, this an er an ikei 00d of in'ur is [21] APPLNO': 89,892 elimi r ia ted, t or the reason that the opening of {he package requires the user to utilize, as an opening [52] 0.8. CI. ..29/628, 29/427, 206/78 B, tool, the two-prong plug of the l p, clock or radio.

206/42,12 Thus, prior to opening the package the user or con- [51] Int. Cl ..H0lr 43/00, B65d 73/02 sumer reads the opening directions, instructing him or [58] Field of Search ..206/78 B, 80 A, 65 F, 46 H, her to first pull out the plug from the wall receptacle, 206/42 12;29/426,427,423,628 and then cut through the electric cord, thereafter I utilizing the plug as a wrench or opening tool to [56] References Cited remove the accessory from the package. After the package has-been opened in this manner the consumer UNITED STATES PATENTS then findsifurther instructions enclosed therein, telling 3,125,802 3/1964 Kenin etal. ..29/427 him her that now the P Y must be Cut Primary ExaminerRobert L. Spicer, Jr. Att0rneyH. Gibner Lehmann and K. Gibner Lehmann [57] ABSTRACT A method of installing an electrical line-cord accessory and a safety package adapted to contain said accessory fordisplay and sales purposes. The electrical acthrough again, this time at the exact location near the lamp base. Since the cord has already been disconnected for the purpose of opening the package, the danger of .electrical short circuit or shock is now eliminated. Prior to the opening of the package, the consumer is not aware that for the installation of the accessory the electrical cord must be cut completely through.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SAFETY PACKAGE FOR ELECTRICAL LINE- CORD ACCESSORY AND METHOD OF INSTALLING ACCESSORY CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS l. Copending application of Herbert G. Lehmann, Ser. No. 28,762, filed Apr. 15, 1970, entitled Quick Replacement, Lamps, Radios, Clocks and the Like.

2. Copending application of Herbert G. Lehmann, design Ser. No. 22,724, filed Apr. 30, 1970 and entitled Lamp Cord Switch.

3. Copending application of Herbert G. Lehmann, Ser. No. 34,324, filed May 4, 1970, and entitled Quick Replacement, Slack Take-Up Electric Cord For Lamps, Radios, Clocks and the Like.

4. Copending application of Herbert G. Lehmann, Ser. No. 52,6l4, filed July 6, 1970 and entitled Electric Lamp Replacement Cord With Delay-Action Switch.

BACKGROUND This invention relates to a method of installing an electrical line-cord accessory, and to the packaging of the same. Accessories of the kind under consideration are those intended to be inserted into an existing electrical lamp cord or the like in such a manner that the cord must first be cut entirely through, as by a scissors, knife or other sharp instrument.

For many years all types of electrical items, such as small plugs, sockets, switches, receptacles, night-lights and the like have been produced and marketed, and in each instance there was never specified a requirement on the part of the consumer to cut entirely through an existing lamp cord, radio cord or the like in order to install the accessory. Recently a new line of accessories has been proposed and produced, wherein the device is intended to be installed in an existing lamp cord, radio or clock cord by the insertion of completely cutthrough ends of the cord into suitable sockets provided in the accessory. The directions to the consumer must be to the effect that the existing cord is cut entirely through, as by a scissors, and that the two cut ends are then to be inserted in holes or sockets provided in the accessory, whereupon levers or other devices are actuated to cause piercing-type contact prongs to pierce the insulation of the cut ends and form the electrical connections with the wires of the cut cord. This type of procedure gives rise to the danger that the user or consumer, being unskilled or unfamiliar with electrical work. may inadvertently cut through the electrical cord with a scissors or knife prior to disconnecting the plug of the cord from the wall receptacle. Such circumstance could result in a dangerous short circuit or shock to the consumer, as well as the blowing of fuses and a flash fire or melting of electrical conductors, melting of the scissors cutting edge, etc. This drawback and disadvantage of the recently devised and introduced accessories applies not only to lamp dimmer units which are intended to be inserted in the line, but also to lamp cord replacement devices as described in the identified applications listed above under Cross References, which are intended to enable easy and quick replacement of a lamp cord, clock cord, radio cord or the like to be effected.

Slack Take-Up Electric Cord Forl SUMMARY The above disadvantage and drawback of recentlydeveloped electrical accessories of the type explained above are obviated by the present invention, which has for one of its objects the provision of an improved method of installing this type'of accessory and also an improved package for the same, all of which tend to eliminate or prevent the likelihood of the consumer in- 0 advertently cutting through a live electrical cord as a preliminary to using or installing the accessory. This is accomplished by a method and a package which require opening of the latter by an act which is subsequent to the pulling of the cord plug from the wall receptacle, and which gives access to the electrical accessory contained in the. package. Such opening of the accessory package is most readily accomplished by utilizing the two-prong electrical plug of the lamp, clock or other appliance which is being worked on. The directions for opening the package state that the first step in opening the package is to remove the two-prong plug from the wall receptacle, andthe directions then instruct the user to snip through the cord so as to separate the plug, and then to apply the prongs of the plug thus removed to openings or slots in the package, thereby to utilize the plug as an opening tool for the presumed purpose of easily opening the package for removal of the purchased accessory. The consumer thus unwittingly performs a safety act in first removing the wall plug to disconnect the electrical cord, and then cutting through the lamp wire, all ostensibly for the purpose of using the plug as a wrench or tool to open the packagerlnside of the package there are further instructions telling the consumer to cut through at a more definitely specified location the now disconnected and initially cut electrical cord, using a scissors or a knife. However, such instructions and their objective of installing the accessory are not available to the consumer until after the package has been opened, and therefore the consumer does not know prior to opening the package that the electrical cord must be cut through for installation purposes. As a consequence, the method and package, as provided by the invention, provide the utmost in safety, and in preventing a consumer from cutting through a live electrical line;

Other'features and objects of the invention reside in the provision of an improved safety method and package for an electrical accessory of the type intended to be inserted in a line or applied to a cut line, which method and package are especially simple, the package being easy to construct, economical to produce and assemble, and being foolproof in its operation while at the same time being easily opened when the user or consumer follows the printed directions which are displayed on the outside.

Still other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an improved safety package for an electrical accessory of the type which for its installation requires cutting entirely through an existing lamp or appliance cord.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line 2 -2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a lamp-dimmer type accessory of the kind intended to be inserted in an existing lamp cord.

lOGOlZ 0018 FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the safety package of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in axial section, of another type of package provided by the invention and constituting another embodiment thereof, in the form of a cardboard or plastic tube with a recessed, safety-type screw cap.

FIG. 6 is a top end view of the package of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an electrical accessory 8 of the type adapted for use with the safety package of the present invention. This accessory comprises a lamp dimming unit intended to be inserted in series in a lamp cord. Such units are now being produced, and comprise a solid state control (not shown) which is carried in a plastic housing 10 having at opposite ends recesses or sockets 12, 14 adapted to receive the cut ends of a lamp cord. Carried by the casing 10 are levers l6, l8 juxtaposed tothe sockets 12, 14 respectively, and so arranged as to pinch the inserted cut wire ends and force the latter against sharp prong-type contacts (not shown) in the well known manner. The lamp dimmer device comprises an adjustable dial and knob 22 which may be connected or carried by the shaft of a potentiometer or other suitable control (not shown) for the purpose of varying the current which may be passed through the device and thereby varying the brightness of the lamp which is controlled thereby. The nature of' the lamp dimmer accessory as above set forthis such that it requires the snipping through of the lamp cord in order to enable its insertion in the line for controlling the light intensity of the lamp.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a novel and improved package and method of installation for'the accessory 8, which has for its purpose the prevention of inadvertent snipping of the lamp cord prior to removal of the electric plug from the wall receptacle. The improved package as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 comprises a cardboard base or piece 24, preferably of rectangular configuration, having applied to it a transparent plastic blister or cover piece designated generally by the numeral 26. The cover piece 26 may be of molded plastic, or it may be formed by a shrinking process by which it is shrunk about the dimmer unit 8 while the latter is held in place on the base card 24. The plastic cover piece 26 has a rectangular base or planar portion 28 which is secured to the cardboard base 24, as by a suitable adhesive. The plastic cover 26 also has raised portions 30, 32,34 and 36 which conform rather closely respectively to the knob 22, dial 20, and casing 10 of the dimmer unit 8. The raised portion 36 is spaced slightly from the cardboard base 24, as seen in FIG. 2.

By the present invention, the card 24 and the cover piece 26 are provided with a pair of alignedperforations or slots 38 which are so arranged as to receive the prong contacts 40 of an electric plug 42 (shown in broken outline in FIG. 2). Further, in accordance with the present invention, the cardboard base 24 and the cover piece 26 are provided with a line of perforations or line of weakness designated 44, said line preferably extending along and being spaced from the upper edge 46 of the card 24 as seen in FIG. 1, and just touching the upper end portions of the slots 38. Preferably, the line of weakness 44 has end portions 48 which extend angularly downward as seen in FIG. I. so as to terminate at a greater distance from the top edge 46 than v the central portions of the line of weakness.

Referring now to the showing of FIG. 4 which reveals directions that are imprinted on the back of the base card 24, from such directions it will be seen that the consumer is instructed, for the purpose of opening the package, to first pull out the plug of the lamp from the wall socket, and thereafter to snip through the wire of the lamp cord with a pair of scissors, approximately one inch from the base of the lamp. Having done this, the consumer has safely carried out the dangerous portion of the installation operation, namely the possibility of snipping through the lamp cord prior to pulling out the plug.

According to the directions given on the package, the pulling out of the plug is necessary in order to open the package in which the dimmer Sis disposed. Following further with the directions, the consumer is instructed to cut through the line cord to which the plug is attached, and then to insert the prongs of the plug that has been removed from the wall receptacle, in the two slots 38 of the package and thereafter to pull sidewayson the plug so as to apply a force to the line of weakness and cause the latter to be severed. When this has been accomplished, the plastic cover piece will have its spaced portion 36 (which is not adhered to the backing card 24) exposed. The consumer can then easily lift the spaced portion 36 and tear the rest of the plastic cover from the card so as to remove the dimmer unit 8. .Within the package 24 there are placed directions instructing the consumer as tothe procedure for attaching the dimmer unit 8 to the cut-through lamp cord. The consumer upon reading such directions, will know for the first time that the process of inserting the dimmer unit 8 in the lamp cord requires the snipping through of the lamp cord with a scissors. Since the consumer previously did not know that such cutting of the lamp cord was required for installation of the accessory, it is extremely unlikely thathe or she (contrary to the package-opening directions) would snip through the cord prior to pulling out the plug from the wall receptacle. Instead, the tendency would be for the consumer to read the directions on the back of the card 24, and such directions relate only to the opening of the package, requiring the electric plugvto be pulled out, the cord severed, and the plug used as a tool for such opening, and making no mention of the fact that the electric cord had to be snipped through for the purpose of inserting the dimmer unit 8 in the line. 'As a consequence, the consumer is safeguarded from being too hasty and cutting through the cord prior to pulling out the plug from the wall receptacle. There is thus avoided any likelihood of a short circuit being caused, together with the accompanying blowing of fuses, fire hazard, and welding or melting of the sharp edges of the scissors.

106012 OOl) otherwise adhered to the end of the tube 50. Screwed into the ferrule 54 is a screw cap 58 having external screw threads 60 which engage the internal threads 56 of the ferrule 54. The screw cap 58 may have a flat annular flange 62 for engagement with the end of the ferrule 54. The transverse bottom wall 64 of the cap 58 is seen to be disposed at a distance within the mouth of the tube 50, and in accordance with the invention is provided with a pair of spaced slots 66 so arranged as to receive the contact prongs. of an electric plug designated by the broken outline 68. The plug 68 is seen to have prongs 70 which have been passed through the slots 64. Thus, with the electric plug in the position illustrated in FIG. 5 it can be used as a wrench to unscrew the screw cap 58 and remove the contents of the container 50. Such contents are indicated generally by a broken outline 72, and can comprise a replacement electric cord set having at one end a twoprong plug (similar to the plug indicated at 68) and having at its other end (not shown herein) a special fitting comprising a push button switch carried by a housing in which there is a socket or opening adapted to receive the cut end of the lamp cord at the location 1 inch from the lamp base. Such a special fitting is illustrated and described in my above-identified copending applications.

The tube 50 will have imprinted on it directions for opening it, and such directions require the consumer to first pull out the plug of the lamp from the wall socket, then snip through the wire of the lamp cord approximately one inch from the lamp base, and thereafter use the electric plug of the lamp as a tool subsequent to its being snipped or separated from the lamp, in the well known manner of a wrench. This is done by inserting the prongs of the plug in the slots 64 of the screw cap and thereafter unscrewing the cap as above set forth. Here, as in the example illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, there is provided a safeguard by which the consumer will not be likely to snip through the lamp cord without first pulling out the plug. Directions for the installation of the product contained in the container 50 will mention that the lamp cord had to be snipped through, as with a scissors, but the consumer will not previously know that this was necessary for the installation of the accessory contained in the tube 50. Therefore the consumer will not be likely to hastily snip through the lamp cord without first pulling out the plug. The consumer, in reading the directions printed on the package 50, will see that the lamp cord plug must first be removed from the wall receptacle and the cord thereafter snipped, ostensibly for the purpose of opening the package. In following such directions, the consumer will be safeguarded and will not be likely to inadvertently cut improved package and method it is extremely unlikely that a consumer will cut through a live lamp cord, since the consumer does not know in the beginning prior to openin the package that the lamp cord must be cut throug for t e purpose of installing the electrical accessory. Instead, the consumer is instructed to pull the plug as the first step in opening the package, and is then instructed to cut through the lamp cord as the second step for opening the package. After the package has been opened, then the consumer can learn that the cord had to be cut at a desired place for the installation of the accessory, but by that time the electric plug has been pulled from the wall receptacle and the danger of short circuit,.fire, injury and so forth is past.

Variations and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

l. The method of opening a package prior to installing, in an appliance line cord which is normally plugged into a wall receptacle, an electrical line-cord accessory of the type sold to the consumer in said package, which includes the steps of first removing the cord plug from the wall receptacle, thereafter inserting the prongs of the removed plug into slots in the package, and then manipulating the plug in the manner of a tool to open the package so as to enable removal of the accessory to be effected from the package.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the plug consists of pulling on the plug laterally while holding the package, said package comprising material which can be torn.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the plug consists of turning the same in an unscrewing direction, said package having a screw cap provided with the said slots.

4. The method of claim 1, and including the further step of inserting the cut ends of the line cord in sockets provided for the purpose in said accessory.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the plug is manipulated at a line of weakness of the package to facilitate the opening of the latter.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plug is applied against cardboard and plastic sheets of the package to tear the same.

7. The method of claim 3, wherein the plug is applied to an end of the package having said slots, said package comprising a tubular body.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the line cord is cut through at a point close to the appliance.

9. The method of claim 1, and including the further step of cutting through the line cord with a tool to sever the plug from the appliance, after the plug has been removed from the wall receptacle.

10. The method of opening an enclosure containing an electrical fixture intended for use with an electric cord having a plug received in a wall receptacle which includes the steps of first removing the plug from the wall receptacle, and thereafter inserting the prongs of the removed plug into slots provided in a wall of said enclosure so as to open the enclosure. 

1. The method of opening a package prior to installing, in an appliance line cord which is normally plugged into a wall receptacle, an electrical line-cord accessory of the type sold to the consumer in said package, which includes the steps of first removing the cord plug from the wall receptacle, thereafteR inserting the prongs of the removed plug into slots in the package, and then manipulating the plug in the manner of a tool to open the package so as to enable removal of the accessory to be effected from the package.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the plug consists of pulling on the plug laterally while holding the package, said package comprising material which can be torn.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the manipulation of the plug consists of turning the same in an unscrewing direction, said package having a screw cap provided with the said slots.
 4. The method of claim 1, and including the further step of inserting the cut ends of the line cord in sockets provided for the purpose in said accessory.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the plug is manipulated at a line of weakness of the package to facilitate the opening of the latter.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plug is applied against cardboard and plastic sheets of the package to tear the same.
 7. The method of claim 3, wherein the plug is applied to an end of the package having said slots, said package comprising a tubular body.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the line cord is cut through at a point close to the appliance.
 9. The method of claim 1, and including the further step of cutting through the line cord with a tool to sever the plug from the appliance, after the plug has been removed from the wall receptacle.
 10. The method of opening an enclosure containing an electrical fixture intended for use with an electric cord having a plug received in a wall receptacle which includes the steps of first removing the plug from the wall receptacle, and thereafter inserting the prongs of the removed plug into slots provided in a wall of said enclosure so as to open the enclosure. 